On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, Cyprus implemented rotating power cuts across various regions, including Paphos, to stabilize the electricity grid during a severe heatwave. According to Haris Zavallis, Assistant Director of the National Energy Control Centre, outages lasted up to 22 minutes and affected five of the 22 consumer groups, as aging power units at Dhekelia and Vasiliko stations suffered technical failures. The crisis occurred amid an unprecedented surge in electricity consumption, which reached a historic peak of over 1,370 MW on Thursday.

Energy Minister Michalis Damianos stated that authorities are working to restore capacity, with one Dhekelia unit returning to service and repairs expected to conclude shortly to prevent further outages. Despite these assurances, the situation triggered a sharp political confrontation. Major opposition parties, DISY and AKEL, criticized the government for failing to invest in storage infrastructure and long-term energy planning, labeling the outages a "political shipwreck." The government rejected these claims, accusing the opposition of ignoring historical systemic weaknesses while attempting to shift blame for current challenges.

As of Thursday, the transmission operator reported that while demand reached record levels, no further rolling cuts were expected provided that repaired generation units remained operational during peak evening hours.